MakerDAO Mulls Proposal To Boost DAI Savings Rate

Blend Drives Surge In NFT Lending Activity

Hello Defiers. Well, we’re coming to you on a somber weekend. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this week was shocking, and The Defiant immediately went to work reporting on this calamity will impact the crypto community in the embattled nation, and abroad.

 on how blockchain dev teams inside Ukraine are at once struggling and galvanizing to complete projects amid the violence. Sam Haig 

 is pulling together community members to provide support for people inside the country. The project includes core members 

, an NFT studio, and the famed protest art group 

. Rest assured, The Defiant will continue to report on these and other efforts to support crypto folk impacted by the war.

 on how metaverse land, of all things, is maintaining its value even as the rest of crypto craters. In a similar vein, Sam Haig delved into how the gaming guild YGG is 

 (including using regional subDAOs) to weather the downturn in GameFi. Rounding off the news, Brady 

 on the strange auction of CryptoPunks at Sotheby’s that was pulled at the last minute.

 in web3, focusing on both the technology and cultural sides of the story. His take on the import of zero knowledge proofs is worth the price of admission alone.

Tune in to Camila Russo’s podcast with 

; they spoke about the slow buildout of Bitcoin DeFi. And Robin Schmidt’s take on how to survive a bear market is a 

The open economy is taking over the old one. Subscribe to keep up with this revolution. 

 (for $100/yr) or sub with fiat by clicking on the button below ($15/mo, $150/yr).

is the best of Web3 in a token. This methodology-first tokenized-index provides broad-market exposure to Web3. Its constituents represent roughly 70% of the ecosystem. 

, providing the fastest private transactions on Ethereum (90%+ hashrate). Trade better anywhere on Ethereum with Eden Rocket RPC.

Zerion is Mission Control for Web3: an intuitive DeFi portfolio manager, multichain tracking & trading and the best place to show off your NFT collection

List and trade any futures contracts based on popular cryptocurrencies, altcoins, indices, NFTs and real-world assets — you name it!

Check out and subscribe to DeFi Alpha, a weekly newsletter by The Defiant and DeFi Dad, packed with tutorials and tips on how to earn yield in DeFi

20% Fixed Yield On ETH and BTC Using 88mph + Yield Farming on Metis

Our Inbox Dump newsletter, which is exclusive to paid subscribers, is where we

 include the updates and announcements that flood our DMs each week and didn’t make it to The Defiant’s content platforms. 

Sometimes announcements here didn’t meet the bar to become a news story, sometimes they may have slipped through the cracks, or they came late and we haven’t had a chance to cover. We also include a compilation of DeFi and crypto funding rounds in the past week so you have these in one handy place.

🎙 Sovryn’s Edan Yago on Building Bitcoin DeFi; Slower Growth But Strongest Foundation

, a Bitcoin-based lending protocol. He’s maybe the first Bitcoin builder we have had on our show and that’s because DeFi on the first blockchain network has been slow to pick up — but Edan says that’s about to change.

Ethereum and other smart contracts platforms have evolved over time with use cases like tokens, DAO’s and NFTs flourishing. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has mainly looked from the sidelines. Edan says there has been a gradual mentality shift, as Bitcoiners accept the first cryptocurrency should be able to support a wider array of use cases to become the backbone of a more decentralized financial system.

SuperMassive NFT Show: NFT’s must Fight for their Place in Culture

Real Vision vs. The Defiant: WHAT’S (AND WHO’S) BEHIND ALL THESE CRYPTO HACKS?

First Look: Is this the NFT/DeFi crossover we’ve all been waiting for? Idols stETH BOND $virtue

Tuesday Tutorial: How To Survive A Bear Market

Quick Take: OpenSea Phishing, Credit Suisse leaking

Scaling Breakthroughs and a Thriving Culture: Here’s What I Learned About the State of Web3 at ETHDenver

 came away from Denver with a lot of takeaways on the state of DeFi and what happens next.

Coming back after a year hiatus, tens of thousands of experienced builders and curious beginners alike descended upon ETH Denver. The conference came at a crucial turning point for the industry as a whole.

It was earlier this month that the likes of Coinbase and FTX bought Super Bowl commercials and 

 reported on the exodus of talent to Crypto/Web3 companies from Silicon Valley. There’s no doubt that crypto and Web3 have captured the imagination of ordinary people and that has inspired many to wait hours outside confabs like ETH Denver in the brisk mile-high air to get a taste of the action.

Coming into the event, I was excited to see all my friends once again whom I’d met on the conference circuit. I’ve only been part of the circuit since BTC Miami in early June 2021 and since then have had the privilege to meet some of the smartest, most talented, and driven individuals I’ve ever come across. As the circuit progressed over the next eight months, I met individuals that considered themselves more a part of Web3 than crypto, a sign of how much the wider community is segmenting even in these early stages of adoption.

Crypto is often associated with finance and the technical aspects of blockchain which was the topic of discourse for over the past decade. Web3 on the other hand refers to the “social layer” of crypto that is more accessible to the masses and has only become a common term over the past half year or so.

Gaming Guild YGG Pulls Out the Stops to Weather a Brutal Bear Market in GameFi

 delves into the mystery of gaming guilds and weathering the downturn…

It wasn’t that long ago that GameFi was riding high. Led by Axie Infinity, play-to-earn gaming emerged as a cultural and economic force in DeFi. With in-game rewards incentivizing players and enabling many to meet living expenses, a 

 had been born. Between the beginning of March and the November peak, Axie’s governance token, AXS, multiplied in value 110 times, bestowing the venture with a $10.5B market capitalization.

But like everything else in crypto, GameFi has tumbled since those November highs. And AXS has lost 60% of its value. Meantime, Smooth Love Potion, its in-game coin that drives much of its tokenomics, has crashed 95% since July.

Even so, many gamers are playing games other than Axie Infinity. Many players also use play-to-earn, or P2E, to supplement their income and are not solely reliant on GameFi revenues to support themselves. That’s continuing.

So what comes next for GameFi? Was it just a bubble, or, as so many believe, is it an innovative new model with staying power that will endure a bear market? To get some answers, The Defiant interviewed P2E gamers representing top gaming guild Yield Guild Games (YGG).

Metaverse Land Sales Hold Steady in Defiance of the Crypto Selloff

unearths a market doing just fine in the bear market…

It’s a stark reality. The cryptocurrency market has lost 40% of its value since peaking in November, and even web3 supporters have accepted that a bear market has arrived with no end in sight.

And yet, there is one asset that has been quietly and steadily holding fast during this sell off — metaverse land. Yes, that’s right, real estate in the virtual world had tracked the larger market’s surge to all time highs last fall but rather than drop it’s remained elevated despite some tapering.

In fact, weekly metaverse land sales broke 6,000 ETH for the first time starting on Nov. 14 and hasn’t dropped below that level since, according to 

, a platform which tracks metaverse “worlds” like 

. Land in the metaverse is typically represented by 

Trudeau Just Proved Bitcoin’s Anti-Censorship Utility is As Valuable, and Necessary, As Ever

 argues thatCanada’s crackdown on financial and crypto accounts reinforces Bitcoin’s utility and purpose.

If you had Canada proving the need for a censorship-resistant, store-of-value on 

 2022 bingo card, well, you are smarter than me, but, here we are…

With the extraordinary invocation of the decades old Emergencies Act, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acted to crush the self-styled Freedom Convoy of truckers who jammed the capital, Ottawa, several weeks ago 

For the truckers and their supporters, this was an act of civil disobedience. And yet Trudeau’s government froze demonstrators’ bank accounts and encouraged doxxing of contributors to their cause.

While Trudeau believed the step was necessary, he unwittingly 

 how important Bitcoin can be to the cause of individual freedom worldwide. With Bitcoin, Ethereum and the rest of crypto suffering a profound selloff, the timing is important. The Canadian government’s action reinforces Bitcoin’s central anti-censorship thesis, and its utility. And that development is a decidedly bullish signal amid the noise of the last few months.

Web3 Could Unleash Innovation by Overturning Age Bias in Startups

 says web3 has the potential to change worlplace behavior for the better.

Last week, it hit me: I was actually working at my first job putting together bankruptcy exit plans for a failing airline the year our protocol’s intern was born. After a bit of a panic and checking to see if my address was updated so I’d receive my AARP card (yes – I’m exaggerating), I spent a little more time reflecting on how I, a finance and management professional with nearly 18 years of experience, found myself as a contributor to a cutting-edge DeFi protocol.

So why exactly would I choose a web3 opportunity rather than any of the numerous other startups I’ve decided not to pursue? Web3 is uniquely positioned to upend the age bias that exists in the traditional startup world because it’s cheaper and quicker to scale, positions older founders in a positive light for their careers, and facilitates the step-change innovations in industries that require a deeper level of expertise.

Blockchain Teams in Ukraine Struggle and Galvanize as Russia Invades Their Country

 Crypto has always been global, but the crisis created by Vladimir Putin’s assault on Ukraine this week has dramatized just how global it has truly become.

Pussy Riot Helps Newly Formed UkraineDAO Mobilize Support and Raise Funds Via NFTs

Pussy Riot, the famed feminist punk protest group, helped form a DAO on Thursday to assist Ukrainians as they cope with the Russian invasion of their country.

Putin’s attack triples Ukrainian crypto exchange’s trading volume: Forkast

BitMEX co-founders Hayes and Delo plead guilty Bank Secrecy Act violations: The Block

Ukrainian military group receives hundreds of thousands in BTC donations: The Block

Ukraine is under attack now, we need to prepare to help in any way we can: United Help Ukraine

If you want to build something great – you need a blueprint to do it. Here is ours: Verso

Sotheby’s Landmark Auction of 104 CryptoPunks Lot Was Withdrawn at Last Minute

It was supposed to be a landmark event for the world’s oldest auction house: on Wednesday night Sotheby’s held a single-lot sale of 104 CryptoPunks carrying the estimate of $20-$30M, the highest-valued estimate for an NFT or digital art ever offered at auction.

CeFi Meets DeFi as Celsius Joins Forces with Maple Finance on Crypto Lending Protocol

Celsius, a centralized crypto lending platform, has become the first CeFi lender to launch a pool on Maple Finance, a decentralized protocol facilitating undercollateralized cryptocurrency loans to institutions, the venture said today.

NFT Market Still Hot As Invisible Friends NFTs Rocket to 10 ETH Floor At Launch

Invisible Friends, a much-hyped NFT collection of 5,000 animated invisible characters, hit a floor price of 10 ETH ($24K) as soon as the early access sale commenced on Feb. 23.

Bitcoin price falls as Russian attack on Ukraine intensifies: The Block

Crypto Sees $242M in Liquidations Within Hours Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis: CoinDesk

MEV Research during Wormhole Incident: Misaka

Hello Defiers. Well, we’re coming to you on a somber weekend. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine this week was shocking, and The Defiant immediately went to work reporting on this calamity will impact the crypto community in the embattled nation, and abroad.

Br...

🦄 Recap: DeFi Week of Feb. 20